Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...

Students investigate writing scenarios that can be performed. They examine the parts and levels of scenarios that can actually be performed.

Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...

Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class.  In this story writing instructional activity, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.

Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and...

Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of panthers by writing a play on the subject.  For this animal life lesson, students view a slide-show on school computers of a veterinary exam of a panther.  Young scholars...

Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...

Students study, interpret, perform, and present various Shakespearean works adapted for middle school Students. They choose a scene from one of the plays covered in this teaching unit to reenact with a group.

Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. For this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...

Students watch Charlie Chaplin films and discuss film elements. They select a story written by Edgar Allen Poe to write and produce a movie of. They film scenes, edit, and create a final iMovie project.

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...

Investigate the growth rates of alien animals. Pupils study fictional animals from another planet to determine how much they grow per year. The investigators plot the growth of their animals over a period of time and then compare...

Students orally retell the Yosemite Miwok legends and design accompanying artistic depictions. They discover the various storytelling elements, such as plot and theme.

Students write a coherent script based on characterization, theme, conflict and emotional tone as found in the songs' lyrics and develop an understanding of the enjoyment that comes through discipline and hard work leading toward a...

Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson plan, 2nd graders act out familiar activities  by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....

Students plot activities for a 24 hour day. They record their information on a spread sheet program. Students list categories they use and write equations for cells that add cells of each category together. Students create a pie chart of...

Young scholars write their own choose-a-plot book. They develop skills in creating plot structure and think through a logical line of story action. They invent characters with striking physical and psychological attributes.

Sixth graders discover the proper methods for plotting hurricanes while developing their understanding of hurricanes by researching and gathering tracking data from technological sources. Students develop a newsletter about hurricanes,...

First graders participate in sequencing activities. In this sequencing lesson, 1st graders read the book the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Students retell the story and act out the scenes in groups. Students create a mural of the story...

Students explore Edgar Allan Poe's most famous short stories. In this Edgar Allan Poe lesson, students complete a 25 page packet of activities where they recognize the features of genres and literary devices Poe uses. Students read "The...

Tenth graders explore the importance of peace in society.  In this Global History lesson, 10th graders create a common vocabulary for the different elements that exist in a peaceful society.  Students discover the connections...

First graders read a story about Abbie Burgess. They identify at least three specific actions exhibiting traits of courage and responsibility. Students explore ways children and adults become heroes by helping others out in a time of...